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Tue, 26 May 2026

Tue, 26 May 2026 Post Office investigation could be delayed by five years, police warn

The commander leading the national police inquiry says the size of the investigation team would need to double in order to meet its current timeline
A UK police investigation into a major scandal involving a faulty IT system that led to hundreds of sub-postmasters being wrongly prosecuted could be delayed by five years due to funding issues. The Horizon IT system, which was introduced in 1999, caused accounting shortfalls in Post Office branches, resulting in over 900 people being prosecuted and some imprisoned. The scandal has been described as the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. Police chiefs warn that unless millions of pounds are allocated for extra funding, the investigation will be delayed. Currently, 111 detectives are working on the case, but another 99 are needed to meet the original timeline of submitting files for potential prosecutions by late next year or early 2028. The police investigation, Operation Olympos, has been ongoing since 2020 and is a joint effort between the National Police Chiefs' Council and the Metropolitan Police Service. However, it relies on grants from the Home Office, which has provided £2.8 million so far but needs to provide an additional £16.5 million. The delay would be unacceptable for those who have already suffered due to the scandal, according to police chiefs. The investigation is dealing with over eight million documents and growing, requiring forensic review. A government spokesperson acknowledged that the scandal was an "appalling injustice" and said they were considering requests for further funding. A sub-postmaster who was wrongly accused of stealing £74,000 from her branch in 2010 expressed frustration at the slow pace of justice. Police chiefs are warning of a significant delay unless extra funding is allocated to support the ongoing investigation into the Horizon IT scandal.